The US would not give up on Taiwan in the short term and would not reach a major deal on cross-strait issues when US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) meet in South Korea on Thursday, an academic said yesterday.
Trump has said he would bring up Taiwan in his talks with Xi, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said the US would not seek a favorable trade agreement with China at the price of “walking away from Taiwan.”
Trump-Xi talks create unease with Taiwanese as the US president’s behavior is unpredictable, which has been compounded by US tariffs and his pressure on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co to expand investments in the US, an official familiar with Chinese “united front” tactics said.
Photo: Chen Fu-yu, Taipei Times
That is why Rubio made public remarks that the meeting would not put Taiwan at stake, they said.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants Washington to support its anti-Taiwanese independence position, but China’s assertion that it could take Taiwan by force complicates the problem, the official said.
“Anyone who does not support cross-strait ‘reunification,’ including those who support the Republic of China, can be accused [by the CCP] of ‘supporting Taiwanese independence,’” they said.
US skepticism sentiment has risen in Taiwan as the CCP spreads news ahead of the talks, they added.
However, Washington would be going against the “six assurances” it pledged to Taiwan in a 1982 joint communique if it were to join China in opposing Taiwanese independence, they said.
Tamkang University Center for Cross-Strait Relations director Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳) said at a seminar at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations that Taiwan is the most sensitive, most important issue between the US and China, but it is not the most urgent matter, and therefore would not be prioritized in this week’s talks.
Compared with other issues that could have severe consequences — such as those concerning tariffs, trade, economics and technology — the Taiwan-US relationship has not been at the center of the current conflict between the US and China, he said.
Although Beijing would prefer Washington to shift to an “anti-Taiwanese independence” stance and would elaborate on its so-called cross-strait “reunification” policy during the talks, both sides know they must minimize disagreements and avoid miscalculations, Chang said.
The talks are unlikely to result in a major agreement on cross-strait issues, he added.
The two countries still lack mutual trust, he said.
Xi does not have any bargaining chip good enough to satisfy Trump, and there are also disagreements in China about whether Trump is credible, he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS